UC Riverside Defeats CSUN 59-41

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A strong UC Riverside start to the second half proved to be the difference as the Highlanders defeated CSUN 59-41 in Big West Conference women's basketball action Thursday night at the SRC Arena.

FIRST HALF
Keilanei Cooper scored the first eight UC Riverside points as the Highlanders led 8-6 at the first quarter media timeout. With the score tied at eight, the Highlanders posted five straight. Both teams went 5-of-16 from the field in the first quarter, but UC Riverside made two three-pointers, and that proved to be the difference as the Highlanders led 13-10 after 10 minutes.

With UCR leading 15-10 early in the second, the Matadors responded with six straight. UCR responded with four in a row. Sydney Woodley broke the scoring drought for the Matadors with a short jumper as the Highlanders called timeout, leading 19-18 with 3:26 to go in the first half. Both teams would end the half with an identical 10-of-31 shooting performance, but again, the difference was the three-pointers. UCR made two in the second quarter, the Matadors just one. The Highlanders led 27-23 at halftime.

SECOND HALF
Daphne Gingo recorded back-to-back layups to key a 9-2 Highlanders' run to open the second half. CSUN called time out at 7:21, trailing 36-25. UCR outscored CSUN 15-3 through the first five minutes of the third quarter. Anaiyah Tu'ua's three-point field goal with just over three minutes to go in the third broke a 4+ minute scoring drought. Tess Amundsen followed Tu'ua with a jumper the reduced the UCR advantage to 42-31. Jada Holland responded with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 14. The Highlanders outscored CSUN 19-9 in the third to go up 46-32 after 30 minutes.

The Matadors scored the first four points of the final stanza to reduce the lead to 46-36. Olivia West scored the first points of the fourth for the Highlanders with just over five minutes remaining. UCR would maintain a 10-point advantage into the media timeout/ 10 would be as close as CSUN would come as Jordan Webster's three-pointer out of the media made it 51-38. UCR closed the game by outscoring CSUN 11-3.

ACCORDING TO INTERIM HEAD COACH CARLENE MITCHELL
"Our lack of consistency from our game against Long Beach to tonight against Riverside set the tone. We didn't make our easy shots which led us starting to force things. Of course, we are disappointed, but with a young team, you have to remain patient and have a short-term memory."

THE NUMBERS
CSUN held UCR to 33.9% shooting (21-for-62) but the Matadors could only muster a 26.3% (15-of-57) performance from the field. Both teams made 10 steals as CSUN committed 17 turnovers. Cooper led all scorers with 18 points while West had 15. Woodley was the top scorer for CSUN with nine points. Tu'ua had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Amundsen posted seven points, eight rebounds, and two steals.

UP NEXT
CSUN (6-8, 2-2 Big West) travels to UC Davis (7-6, 1-2 Big West) Saturday. Coverage on ESPN+ begins at 2 p.m.

NOTES
Playing at home for the first time since Dec. 16, UC Riverside is now 4-6, 1-2 Big West…Thursday was the 66th meeting between CSUN and UC Riverside with the series now tied at 33…Thursday was the first time that CSUN lost when outrebounding their opponent (4-1)…Thursday was the 11th time in 14 games, the Matadors forced at least 10 turnovers.

Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Anaiyah Tu'ua

Sydney Woodley